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Lourdes saw its 30-match home court win streak come to an end on Saturday, and in the process suffered its first loss ever inside the Russell J. Ebeid Recreation Center, falling in four sets to Saint Xavier 18-25, 27-25, 25-23, 25-20.
 
The Gray Wolves led late in each of the last three sets, but the Cougars rallied each time to earn the win.
 
"We played well at times today, but we also showed how inconsistent we can be," head coach Greg Reitz said following the match.  "Against a quality opponent you need to be on at all times.  They pushed us and we didn't respond.  We were not able to score the big points when we needed them."
 
Lourdes started quickly, hitting .517 in the opening set.  The Gray Wolves tallied 15 kills on 29 swings without an error, and finished the set scoring six of the final seven points.
 
The Gray Wolves continued to be efficient offensively in the second, swinging at a .333 clip while committing just two miscues.  However, with Lourdes in front 24-21 and looking to take a 2-0 lead in the match, the Cougars responded with six of the next seven points, putting down three kills, adding a service ace, and taking advantage of two Gray Wolf errors to even the match.
 
Lourdes built a 19-15 lead in the third, and still had a 23-21 advantage before Saint Xavier scored the final four points to take a 2-1 lead.  The third set marked the first time the Cougars outhit Lourdes, doing so .250-.149.
 
The Cougars rallied again in the fourth set, which was one of runs on both sides.  With Lourdes leading 8-6, Saint Xavier scored seven straight points, only to see the Gray Wolves respond with a 10-2 run of its own to build a 19-17 lead late.  However, the Cougars scored the next seven points to take the lead, and would not relinquish it the rest of the way.
 
Kristin Murrell (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic H.S.) and Cierra Martinez (Arvada, Colo./Ralston Valley H.S.) led the way offensively with 10 kills each, hitting at a .269 and .261 clip respectively.    Murrell tallied a double-double with 10 digs defensively as well.  Jami Markus (Oregon, Ohio/Central Catholic H.S.) handed out a career-high 37 assists.
 
Defensively, Angelica Dippold (Louisville, Ky./Mercy Academy) tallied a match-high 29 digs while Shannon Fischer (Toledo, Ohio/Notre Dame Academy) added 12 more.  Tylar Roberson (Elkhart, Ind./Central H.S.) added 10 digs and was just one kills shy of a double-double, tallying nine on the offensive end.
 
Rory Manion led Saint Xavier (16-3) with 16 kills while Courtney Joyce handed out 52 assists and had 20 digs.  Mariana Ayala added a team-high 27 digs for the Cougars.
 
Lourdes (10-6) will remain home on Wednesday evening as the Gray Wolves return to Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference play, hosting Aquinas.  First serve is set for 7 p.m. inside of the Ebeid Rec Center.